No link between citizenship and passport: DG Passport

In the wake of controversy over Tarique Rahman’s passport, the director general (DG) of the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) on Thursday said there is no connection between ‘citizenship and surrendering a passport’.

“One’s citizenship is not cancelled if one has no passport. If BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman has filed an appeal seeking cancellation of his citizenship, that’s a different thing, but we’ve no idea whether Tarique filed any application in this regard,” said DIP DG Maj Gen Md Masud Rezwan.

The DG came up with the information while talking to reporters at his office on Thursday.

“If Tarique Rahman files any application for passport then he won’t be allowed to avail of it,” he said.

According to the Bangladesh Passport Order 1973, a person convicted for minimum of two years would not be issued a passport if he applies within five years of conviction, the DG added.

“Tarique surrendered his passport at London High Commission in 2014 and he hasn’t filed any application for his passport since then,” said Masud Rezwan.

The BNP acting chairman can get back his passport if he has the National Identification (NID) card, said the DG adding, “It’s known to all that Tarique has no NID and he has to return home for taking both NID and passport.”

Replying to a question, the DG said, “There’ll be no problem in his return to home. He can return home after taking travel pass from Bangladesh Embassy and anyone can do it.”

Earlier, Tarique renewed his passport from Bangladesh High Commission in London in 2010 after he left Bangladesh in 2008, he said.

When Tarique left the country, he was not a convicted accused, he added.

On April 23, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam at a press conference said Tarique along with his wife and daughter handed over their passports to the British Home Office four years back.